Childrenshealthandsafety

It is really important that you fill this in as accurately as you can, and that you send it back to school as soon as possible.

This pack gives us information about who to contact if there is an emergency, and tells us about any health needs your child may have. If we are not able to reach a parent in an emergency we need your permission to provide emergency medical care, and we need to know who your child’s doctor is.

We appreciate that it takes a while to fill in the form, but it is really important that you do complete it and return it to school.

If anything changes with your home life or your child’s health during the year please send a note into school so we can update our records.

If your child has been unwell please follow your doctor’s guidance about whether they should be at school. Please also see Public Health England’s guidance on on how long children should stay away from school for different types of illness. Children who have a ‘tummy bug’ and experience vomiting or diarrhoea should stay away from school until they have been clear of symptoms for 48 hours. For example, if they are sick at 8.00am on Monday, they will be able to return to school after 8.00am on Wednesday.

We recommend that medications are administered by family members at home, but we are able to administer medications in school. If your child needs to have medication in school time (except blue inhalers) please read our Medication In School Policy (on the Policies page) and complete a medication consent form, and give it to the school office.

Medicines must be brought by an adult to the school office – never given to children to look after. Prescribed medication packets must have a printed label printed showing the child’s name, prescribed dosage and frequency. When we give medicines to children will will have two adults attending and we will record it on an individual sheet for each child.

The medication policies also applies to things like skin creams, lip balms, and throat sweets.

ASTHMA INHALERS

Blue (salbutamol) asthma inhalers are the only exception to the Medicine In School policy (see the Policies page). Children should take responsibility for their own inhaler and keep it with them whenever they may need it.

Our Asthma Policy is available on the Policies page. We ask all families of children with asthma to give us consent for use of an emergency salbutamol inhaler. Please ask at the office if you need a copy of these documents.

SCHOOL NURSE

Sharon Hilton, our School Nurse, is based at Ashton Community Care Centre (telephone 01524 518 947). She comes into school every Thursday morning so please do pop in and speak to her if you have any questions.

Staff from the health service also visit school each year to do health checks such as height, weight and eye sight tests. Before a visit like this they will send home a letter that gives you the option to ‘opt out’.

KEEPING CHILDREN HEALTHY

Please take a link at the links (below) to information about helping to keep children healthy:

US-based website Drugwatch offers the Children’s Comprehensive Health Guide – From Newborn to Preteen, which answers families questions about common health related questions. They say ‘When should my baby see a doctor? How does bullying affect my preteen? What medications are potentially dangerous for children? These are common questions parents have as their children reach different stages of their growth and development. Some children may face obesity, diabetes or hearing loss; others may require glasses or an EpiPen for allergies. You can promote children’s well-being by learning how their bodies grow, what diseases or disorders to look out for and how to identify risky products.’

TAKING YOUR CHILD OUT OF SCHOOL

If your child has to leave school before the end of the school day, for example for a doctor’s appointment, please let us know in advance.

We do not allow children to leave school alone during the day – they must be collected from the school office by an adult.

Children who come in and out of school during the office (not at the usual start and home times) must be signed in and out.

We offer every family the opportunity to have a password to be used when collecting children, though class teachers will get to know the family members who collect children everyday, so may not ask for the password every time.

If someone different will be collecting your child please let us know who to expect. If there is a password in place please make sure that this adult knows what it is.

GETTING INTO SCHOOL

Children and families should come to school through the pedestrian entrances. Please do not walk through the car park – this is not safe.

If you bring your child to school by car, please do not drive into the car park, as this is very busy at the beginning and end of the day, but park (legally!) near the school.

Families arriving in taxis should ask the driver to pull up on the road (either on Firbank Road or Keswick Road), and walk to the school gate via the usual pedestrian routes. Taxis coming into the car park at dropping-off and home times block access for other users, which is busy at this time.

Please do not park at the Firbank Centre as this car park is needed for their own use.

Dogs are not allowed onto school grounds, so please do not bring them in when you come to collect a child.